Regional Manufacturers Report Significant Results from NEPIRC Engagements Throughout 2021, regional manufacturing firms attributed over $120 million in revenue impact, $11.7 million in cost savings and $21.2 million in expansion, modernization and workforce training to their successful engagements with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NEPIRC). Those financial impacts allowed the firms to create and retain 1,200 full-time manufacturing jobs – bringing our region’s industrial employment to nearly 44,000. NEPIRC clients reported those impacts during surveys administered by the Fors Marsh Group under the guidance of the U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards & Technology. As a result of the dynamic results reported by NEPIRC clients during 2021, the organization maintained its placement among the top performers in the Manufacturing Extension Partnership National Network. NEPIRC also received a Sliver Award for Excellence in Economic Development from the International Economic Development Council during the year. “We’re proud of the impacts that our offerings have had upon our manufacturing clients during this critical time of rebound and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. These results speak to the expertise of our staff and the dedication of our manufacturers to continue to thrive amidst adversity, retain their existing workforce and create new good-paying jobs,” said Eric Joseph Esoda, NEPIRC’s President & CEO. “Our manufacturing economy has already returned to near pre-pandemic levels of employment and hundreds of job opportunities are still listed on our Manufacturing Job Board,” he added. In addition to capturing client financial and employment impacts, the Fors Marsh survey process assessed NEPIRC client overall satisfaction levels and their reasons for choosing NEPIRC for their consultative service needs. Most NEPIRC clients partnered with NEPIRC due to their staff expertise, reputation for results, exclusive focus on the manufacturing sector or practical cost of services. NEPIRC’s Annual Impact Report can be found at www.NEPIRC.com > “Our Impact”.
NEPIRC Hiring Lean Continuous Improvement Engineer Share your expertise with other organizations by joining a regional provider of world-class manufacturing training and consulting. We are looking to add an Industrial or Mechanical Engineer with manufacturing and Lean Continuous Improvement experience to our staff of experts.You will work with clients on consultative engagements designed to address their unique Lean Enterprise challenges and maximize their results of Lean Enterprise implementations. In return you’ll receive competitive wages, a comprehensive benefit package, Bonus and Commission incentives and an excellent work environment with a great deal of flexibility. This full-time position requires minimal overnight travel, supports continuing professional education and certifications, and provides exposure to variety of different clients each year. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Provide educational seminars and workshops in coordination with our Business Development team, sufficient to generate demand for Lean Enterprise consulting services and secure client engagements.Work collaboratively with Business Development professionals to properly scope Lean Enterprise engagements, prepare and present client proposals, and secure engagement commitments. Provide hands-on facilitation and implementation of Lean Enterprise engagements to regional manufacturers, which may include the application of a number of traditional Lean Enterprise tools –6S, TPM, Value Stream Mapping, Automation, Cellular Manufacturing, SMED, Lean Enterprise training, and so forth.Coordinate and deliver training and educational courses on Lean Enterprise tools and methodologies to manufacturing professionals in a team-based learning environment, which may occur on the shop floor or in a classroom setting.Accurately identify engagement scope, resources needed, time frame for performance and expected benefits and outcomes of each engagement and communicate such information effectively to client base. QUALIFICATIONS: A minimum of ten (10) years of manufacturing experience, preferably involving managing teams and some levels of P&L responsibility.A minimum of five (5) years of Lean Enterprise implementation experience within a manufacturing environment.Experience with Automation a plus.Prior training, teaching or presentation skills.Bachelor’s degree from four-year college or university in Engineering discipline, with Industrial or Mechanical Engineering preferred.Six Sigma Black Belt certification or other formal certifications in Lean Enterprise is highly preferred.Food Safety and Defense training and certifications a plus.
Senator Bob Casey Visits NEPIRC United States Senator Bob Casey visited the Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NEPIRC) on November 23rd to recognize the organization’s recent attainment of a Silver Award from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the world’s largest association of economic development organizations and practitioners, for its COVID-19 Response, Readiness & Recovery services for regional manufacturers. Those services enabled manufacturers to avoid 1,700 layoffs and 4,661 temporary job furloughs during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. After touring NEPIRC’s Innovation Space 3D Lab, Multimedia Studio, Leadership Learning Center, Manufacturing Showcase and corporate offices, Senator Casey met with NEPIRC staff, federal stakeholders and regional manufacturing executives to discuss the business environment that NEPIRC’s clients are facing and review the positive impact that NEPIRC has had on the manufacturing sector across northeastern, northern and north central Pennsylvania. During the meeting, Senator Casey also shared insights regarding the recently passed American Rescue Plan, Infrastructure Investment Act, Jobs Act, and Build Back Better Plan and spoke about their impacts upon our bridges, roads, mass transit systems, broadband infrastructure and overall economy. “The Senator’s tour and discussion with our regional manufacturing leaders evidenced his strong commitment to our manufacturing economy and his eagerness to implement policies and programs that accelerate their growth and strengthen their long-term competitiveness,” said Eric Joseph Esoda, NEPIRC’s President & CEO. “We’re delighted to have had him visit us to recap various federal initiatives to create manufacturing jobs and stimulate our industrial economy,” he added. Attending Senator Casey’s visit were NEPIRC staff, Eric Joseph Esoda, President & CEO, Drew Mackie, EVP & CFO, Dale Parmenteri, Vice President of Consulting Operations, and Chelsey Coslett, Manager of Marketing & Stakeholder Engagement, Rikki Riegner, Executive Director of PA MEP, and members of NEPIRC’s Board of Directors, such as Grace McGregor Kramer, McGregor Industries, Inc., Garry Hartman, Cheetah Chassis Corporation and Bruce Daniels, Medico Construction Equipment/Action Lift, Inc.
NEPIRC Offers Free Training Fridays NEPIRC will be offering Free Training Fridays featuring short introductory classes on various topics during Manufacturing Month 2021. It is open to all manufacturers and will feature different topics every week. The trainings will run from about 30 minutes to an hour and will be featured on social media. What is Six Sigma Yellow Belt Training? NEPIRC’s first installment of the Free Training Friday series in celebration of Manufacturing Month is “What is Six Sigma Yellow Belt Training?,” taught by Brian Matyjevich, NEPIRC’s Lean Enterprise Consultant. Join Brian as he discusses Six Sigma roles and responsibilities, thinking outside the box while understanding change management, skills that are needed to be a good problem solver, eliminating waste with Lean methodology and introduces basic statistics and data collection methods. The Project Management Triangle NEPIRC’s second installment of the Free Training Fridays series is “The Project Management Triangle,” taught by Leo Gilroy, NEPIRC’s Director of Strategy and Innovation. Join Leo as he discusses the importance of creating a project charter; analyzing the power and influence of stakeholders; project management leadership skills like communication, conflict resolution, team building and change management; and how to integrate project management with strategy. Collaborative Robotics NEPIRC’s third installment of our Free Training Friday series is “Collaborative Robotics,” led by Dale Parmenteri, NEPIRC’s Vice President of Consulting Operations. Join Dale as he discusses the differences between traditional robots and cobots, the implementation of collaborative robotics as an answer to today’s workforce issues, how collaborative robotics are used and how easy they are to use, the ability to redeploy them for multiple tasks within the manufacturing facility and the financial ROI. Why Become ISO Certified NEPIRC’s last Free Training Friday session, “Why become ISO certified?” is an insightful Q&A between Ray Kryeski, NEPIRC’s Mechanical Engineer, and Marla Hager, NEPIRC’s Senior Business Advisor. Join Ray and Marla as they discuss the definition and background of ISO 9001, the importance of becoming ISO certified, the benefits it provides to manufacturers and the benefits of working with an ISO-certified business. Be sure to share this Free Training Friday segment with co-workers, friends or business partners who you feel would benefit from the presentation. If you’d like to learn more about NEPIRC’s Project Management Program, please email Info@NEPIRC.com.
NEPIRC COVID-19 Response Efforts for Manufacturers Earns National Award The International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the world’s largest association of economic development organizations and practitioners, recently presented the Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NEPIRC) with an International Silver Award for its COVID-19 Resiliency, Recovery & Mitigation Efforts for Manufacturers. According to data reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce and obtained directly from firms that utilized NEPIRC’s services during the pandemic, the organization’s COVID-19 response allowed the region’s manufacturers to avoid 1,700 layoffs and 4,661 temporary job furloughs. Firms that called upon NEPIRC also reported the retention of $124.7 million in sales that would have otherwise been lost due to closure, supply chain breakdowns, raw material outages or other pandemic-related consequences. More than 1,800 regional manufacturers took advantage of NEPIRC’s no-cost COVID-19 assistance efforts during the peak of the pandemic – with more than 100 receiving highly-customized pandemic response solutions. “This recognition by our peers is a testament to the tireless work of our team members and our collective innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, which allowed us to develop and deploy workable solutions and approaches for our manufacturers quickly and effectively,” said Eric Joseph Esoda, NEPIRC’s President & CEO. “Our team members were our greatest asset, followed by our I.T. infrastructure, which allowed us to transition to remote working environments and virtual services without missing a beat,” he added. Within the award presentation, the IEDC applauded NEPIRC’s proactive approach to contacting manufacturers during the pandemic and providing them with free COVID-19 impact assessments and customized response plans. IEDC’s recognition also noted the value of NEPIRC’s informational webinars and seminars, online manufacturer guides, virtual CEO and Leadership networks and other services. The award was conferred at a special ceremony during IEDC’s Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee on October 5th, which was broadcasted internationally. NEPIRC plans to celebrate the award with its clients, Board of Directors and staff at a later date.
NEPIRC’s Annual Manufacturing Day Event The Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NEPIRC) announced the return of its regional National Manufacturing Day (MFG DAY) 2021 Manufacturing Best Practices Summit & Expo. This year’s event will be at the Mohegan Sun Pocono Convention Center on October 1st, 2021. The event, which attracted nearly 400 participants in 2019 and garnered over 500 virtual event attendees in 2020, is open to manufacturers, suppliers, and local businesses that serve industrial customers and job seekers. NEPIRC’s 2021 MFG DAY expo will feature four (4) timely-topic breakout sessions, a keynote speaker luncheon, an afternoon industry panel discussion on automation (robotics) implementation, a post-event reception and plenty of networking time for exhibitors and attendees. David Beurle, futurist and founder of Future iQ, will provide the keynote address – The World Ahead: A Decade of Turbulence, Transformation & Triumph – as a follow-up to his 2019 presentation to a capacity audience at NEPIRC’s 2019 gathering. In addition to highlighting the region’s manufacturers, providing networking opportunities and offering world-class content, this year’s MFG DAY event will encourage the creation of localized supply chains and regional business-to-business commerce. “Our manufacturers learned a great deal during the pandemic – including the risks associated with distant supply chains and, conversely, the benefit of localized supplier and vendor relationships,” said Eric Joseph Esoda, NEPIRC’s President & CEO. “In response, our manufacturers are entering the post-pandemic economy eager to create new networks and business relationships with companies within the region and conduct more business locally,” he added. Following NEPIRC’s 2019 MFG DAY event, 83% of attendees indicated that the likelihood of doing business with vendors, suppliers and fellow manufacturers that they met at the event had increased significantly. More than 92% of attendees stated that they planned to attend NEPIRC’s next MFG DAY event. The full agenda for the event, as well as sponsorship, exhibitor and attendee registration information can be found at www.NEPIRCMFGDAY.com or obtained by calling Chelsey Coslett, NEPIRC’s Manager of Marketing & Stakeholder Engagement, at 570.704.0018.
Regional Manufacturers Experience Dynamic Growth; Rebound Quickly with NEPIRC Assistance The Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NEPIRC) closed out its most recent fiscal year on June 30, 2021, with reports of dynamic growth and much faster than expected COVID-19 recovery among its manufacturing clients over the past year. Throughout the past 12 months, NEPIRC assisted more than 400 manufacturers across northeastern, the northern tier and central Pennsylvania in responding to the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and rebuilding their businesses. Of those companies, more than 100 received expanded services tailored to their unique circumstances and challenges. Citing client-reported data gathered through multiple independent sources and subsequently verified by the U.S. Department of Commerce, NEPIRC’s President and CEO, Eric Joseph Esoda, announced that those companies recorded $150.5 million in additional revenue over the past year as a result of NEPIRC’s assistance while also attributing $17.2 million in savings due to increased efficiency and productivity. Despite worldwide economic challenges throughout the latter half of 2020 and first six months of 2021, NEPIRC’s clients invested more than $22.1 million in expanding or modernizing their regional manufacturing facilities and were able to create and retain 2,045 good-paying area manufacturing jobs. “The outstanding impacts that manufacturers are reporting from their engagements with NEPIRC are indicative of the industrial sector’s potential to drive our Commonwealth, and even our country, out of the economic uncertainties that the COVID-19 pandemic left in its wake,” said Mr. Esoda. “We’ve consistently held that our industrial sector is Pennsylvania’s best bet for real, consistent and sustainable economic recovery and expansion and, in fact, fuels growth in other sectors that rely upon manufacturing activity. These results prove that our manufacturers are roaring back to life and will once again drive our Commonwealth forward,” he added. According to aggregate client data within NEPIRC’s year-end reports, 60% of the manufacturers NEPIRC assisted throughout the pandemic reported the avoidance of layoffs as a direct result of the advisement they received. A nearly equal number of clients (58%) credited NEPIRC with enabling them to retain customer relationships and sales that would have otherwise been lost by working with them to meet production requirements or find alternative suppliers when primary supply chains were disrupted by COVID-19. A full 40% of NEPIRC clients reported increased sales amidst the pandemic thanks to NEPIRC’s assistance in attracting new customers or pivoting into new markets – and over 30% of the companies that utilized NEPIRC’s services over the past 12 months created new manufacturing jobs within the region. Across the nation, NEPIRC ended its fiscal year as one of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s top-performing Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) affiliates, particularly with respect to the number of companies it served throughout the pandemic and the levels of jobs its clients created and retained over the past year.
NEPIRC Launches Regional Manufacturer Job Board The Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NEPIRC) recently launched the region’s first manufacturer job board to connect job seekers throughout northeastern, central and the northern tier of Pennsylvania with manufacturing firms that are growing and adding to their teams. To date, the job board (www.NEPIRC.com/ManufacturingJobs) represents over 60 manufacturers that are collectively offering more than 1,000 career opportunities. NEPIRC created the job board in response to manufacturer roundtable suggestions and to simplify the way in which unemployed and underemployed individuals find, evaluate and apply for good-paying advanced manufacturing careers. “With over 60 companies across seven counties already participating in this effort, and more joining in every day, there’s a manufacturing career opportunity for everyone and every skill level – from first-job applications to experienced professionals with industry certifications,” said Eric Joseph Esoda, NEPIRC’s President & CEO. “NEPIRC’s regional manufacturer job board is free to our area’s industrial firms, convenient for job seekers, and consistent with our mission of maximizing the growth, resiliency and strength of our area’s most significant economic driver – manufacturing,” he added. According to the organization, NEPIRC’s job board is unique to the region in its design and industry focus and will be continuously updated as new manufacturers and career opportunities are added while other positions are filled with qualified new hires. NEPIRC will also support the job board on an ongoing basis through traditional media, social media platforms and engaging videos that accurately depict the advanced, high-tech nature of today’s manufacturers and industrial careers. Manufacturers are encouraged to participate in the effort by contacting Chelsey Coslett, NEPIRC’s Manager of Marketing & Stakeholder Engagement at Chelsey@NEPIRC.com.
The Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center Adds to its Team of Experts To better assist manufacturers in capitalizing on growth opportunities, addressing workforce challenges and implementing new technologies, NEPIRC continues to add to its team of experts. Steven Goul recently joined the firm as a Mechanical Engineer. Mr. Goul brings with him an impressive resume, which includes ownership of two patents and more than 20 years of engineering experience with companies like Sanofi Pasteur, Honeywell Aerospace and Lockheed Martin. Within those companies, and through ongoing professional education, Mr. Goul received Six Sigma Black Belt, ISO9001, AS9100 and Lean Manufacturing designations and certificates. Additionally, Steve has been an active member of the U.S. Navy for 31 years, including deployment to Afghanistan. Mr. Goul still proudly serves one weekend a month at the U.S. Navy Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center in Norfolk, VA. Mr. Goul’s educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State University and a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Wisconsin, where his thesis focused on teamwork and conflict resolution. In addition, NEPIRC added Brandon Henrie as the organization’s newest Business Advisor. Mr. Henrie possesses 14 years’ experience in the medical sales industry. Throughout that tenure, Mr. Henrie obtained numerous recognition awards for exceptional client service and territory development. Brandon holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Kutztown University. Through continuing education and personal development, Mr. Henrie was a contributing author to “Job’s Analysis of the Range of the ‘Dalton Syringe Rocket.,’” which appeared in the Journal of Chemical Education, and obtained his Lean Specialist certification. Brandon is also an accomplished Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner and teaches evening and weekend youth classes at Phoenix Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Nescopeck. In his role at NEPIRC, Brandon will maintain and cultivate valued client relationships throughout Lackawanna, Monroe, Pike and Wayne counties.
